Every year on April 23, Türkiye celebrates its National Sovereignty and Children’s Day, which marks the anniversary of the foundation of the country’s Parliament in 1920.
This year, the weekend ahead of the official date, which marks a public holiday in the country, saw the start of numerous activities celebrating children and their day.
The Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (TBMM) met for the first time in Ankara in 1920 during the War of Independence to lay the foundations for an independent, secular and modern republic.
Kick-starting the four-day celebrations in Parliament this year, a special activity dubbed the “Parliamentary Garden, Children’s Garden and Science Festival” commenced on Saturday, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.
Grand National Assembly of Türkiye Secretary General Talip Uzun in his speech at the opening of the event held in the Parliament garden, expressed his gratitude to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his comrades, and all martyrs who made it possible to hold the celebrations in the Parliament garden by opening the TBMM 104 years ago.
“This building may have been made of stone and mud in the beginning, but it is the love of this nation that has kept this place alive for 104 years. The heart of each of our 85 million citizens beats in this building. We are proud to host such a meaningful event on the anniversary of its establishment,” he noted.
“Looking to the horizons with the same spirit as 104 years ago and conducting these programs with a theme of space is very meaningful,” he added.
National Education Deputy Minister Kemal Şamlıoğlu emphasized the decisive role of the opening of the Grand National Assembly in the victory of the War of Independence, stating that the TBMM has made a significant contribution to building the future on solid foundations with the historical responsibility it undertook during the war and the republic era.
Noting that April 23 is the greatest legacy left to the Turkish nation, Şamlıoğlu said, “We are aware of the love and importance bestowed upon our children. As the ministry, we are exerting great efforts to celebrate April 23, which holds great importance for the future of our country and nation, more effectively with each passing year.”
“The Ministry of National Education desires to create a strong educational environment in the new era by enhancing children’s learning of our cultural heritage through game-based learning,” he said.
The opening of the event in Ankara also saw the participation of Ankara University Rector professor Necdet Ünüvar, Türkiye’s first astronaut Alper Gezeravcı and the president of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBITAK), Hasan Mandal.
“The mission I performed was the starting point of a story, not a story of arriving somewhere. From now on, it is our brothers and sisters who are here today who will bring the rest of this story,” Gezeravcı told the crowd of joyful children joining the organization.
Successfully completing the nation’s inaugural space mission earlier this year, Gezeravcı became Türkiye’s first astronaut and a symbol of the country’s advancement in the technology and aerospace sphere, considered to be a role model for generations to come.
National Sovereignty and Children’s Day, often known in short as Children’s Day, is a widespread celebration, marked with special events at public offices, schools and in the private sector across the country.
Celebrations in other cities
On the occasion of the day, some students in the central Konya province visited on Sunday the Air Forces Command’s Turkish Stars (“Türk Yıldızları”) jet aerobatics team and had the chance to meet the pilots and watch the air show.
Visiting the 134th Acroteam Fleet Command located in Konya 3rd Main Jet Base Command, students and teachers of Izzet Bezirci Primary School and Ulubatlı Hasan Imam Hatip Secondary School, were informed about the purpose of the establishment, history, shows and brand value of the Turkish Stars.
The students chatted with the Turkish Stars pilots for a while and then had the opportunity to watch the demonstration flight of the fleet, which is said to have lasted about one hour.
“It was beautiful, it was wonderful. It was a really good celebration for us. We understood the power of our soldiers much better. The show was beautiful. I haven’t watched it before,” the fifth-grade student Berat Soylu told AA.
“We were already very excited when we came here by bus at first, but we got even more excited when we saw the planes. It was a memory I will never forget.”
In other cities, such as northwestern Kocaeli, the children are set to celebrate their day in nature, as various workshops would be set in a popular tourist and nature spot, Ormanya, through the organization announced by the metropolitan municipality, according to a report by Ihlas News Agency (IHA) on Sunday.
Elsewhere, the early Children’s Day celebrations have commenced in the eastern Erzurum province as well, local media reports indicated on Sunday.
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